We are all familiar with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. But, now, the console gaming world has come up with a new wrinkle on repetitive strain injuries.
The British Journal of Dermatology reports that a new skin disorder associated with intense console game playing has been discovered by Swiss researchers.
Dr. Vincent Piguet, who teaches at the University Hospital of Geneva, has named the new affliction Palmare PlayStation Hidradenitis.
Piguet first observed the condition when a 12 year old girl was brought to the hospital with unusual skin lesions on her hands. The sores first appeared a full month before the young woman was seen by doctors.
“They were huge red nodes which were very spectacular,” Piguet told reporters.
It was subsequently learned that the girl was a compulsive Playstation gamer. Piguet believes that extreme tension in the muscles of the hands as they gripped the controller combined with frenetic pressing of the control buttons caused tiny skin injuries which were aggravated by the presence of perspiration.
Piguet and his colleagues prescribed a 10-day ban on Playstation activity for the girl. And, sure as shootin’, the lesions went away.